I found this interesting article published
in the December 10, 1976 issue of “People Weekly”. The cover blurb reads, “Robert
Plant of Led Zeppelin His songs spin heavy metal rock into platinum” and the
article is titled “Heavy Metal Gods”.

The first paragraph includes this
statement, “That was the Heavy Metal Age, roughly 1969-71, when one group,
Great Britain’s Led Zeppelin, emerged as the genre’s unrivaled sovereign.” It
continues in the second paragraph: “Heavy metal is the music that most closely commits
artistic child abuse, aimed, as it is, at a constituency presumably under 18.
Led Zep’s pulverizing force has made it a sound to get cauliflower ear by and,
as such, is preferably experienced in a semiconscious state.” The paragraph
concludes by stating, “Though heavy metal has faded as an art form, Led
Zeppelin continues to pillage and plunder the land, as ever the most puissant
rock group on earth.”

Robert Plant expresses his disdain for
being associated with heavy metal a little further on in the article. “They
have allowed our name to be linked with that horrendous boring period of music—heavy
metal. I hate the term.”

Robert Plant isn’t the only progenitor of
early and proto-metal who doesn’t care to be hailed as a father-of-metal hero.

Ian Gillan – “Heavy metal is a term that is
just unintentionally clumsy. It induces anything from a raised eyebrow to mild
nausea in most of the musicians I know.”

Ginger Baker – “People say Cream gave birth
to heavy metal. If that’s so, we should have had an abortion.”

Jack Bruce – I still don’t take the blame
for inventing heavy metal. Hang that one on Led Zeppelin.”

Dickie Peterson – “People keep trying to
say that we’re heavy metal or grunge or punk, or we’re this or that. The
reality is, we’re just a power trio and we play ultra blues and it’s rock ‘n
roll.”

Dear Lemmy Kilmister (God rest his soul if
he’ll let Him) never completely rejected being associated with heavy metal
though he always insisted his band played rock ‘n roll and that heavy metal was
just another form of rock ‘n roll. At least Ray Davies seems to take a certain
pride in his and brother Dave’s invention of riff busters “You Really Got Me”
and “All Day and All of the Night”. I mean, gee whiz guys, take a bow for
helping create a style of music that has attracted millions of fans around the
world for the last few decades, and has inspired legions of artists and
musicians to push the envelope of possibilities with their respective
instruments.

Anyway, the People article was interesting
because of how they spoke of heavy metal in 1976. Led Zeppelin – heavy metal
gods. The Heavy Metal Age, roughly 1969-71. “That horrendous boring period of
music.” Heavy metal has faded as an art form.

It would be interesting to find more
articles from the seventies and read how the authors use and reference the term
heavy metal.

The People Weekly article is here: http://people.com/archive/cover-story-heavy-metal-gods-vol-6-no-25/

A story told that can't be real somehow must reflect the truth we feel.

I’ve actually heard quotes before from Messrs Plant, Gillan and Kilmister denying the heavy metal links to Zep, Purple and Motorhead, and also from Angus Young. Lemmy has stated that Motorhead are more punk than metal. Rob Halford on the other hand has never denied his metal heritage, the old Metal God that he is 🙂

That quite surprised me. I didn't know heavy metal was so despised by these musicians back then. Tremendously stupid statements

I first noticed it when I heard Gillan in an interview in 2007 say he thought heavy metal was the most unflattering term for any style of music. Then I saw on Metal Evolution that Sam Dunn couldn't get an interview with Page and Plant because they didn't want to be associated with heavy metal. That got me looking last night.

A story told that can't be real somehow must reflect the truth we feel.

I’ve actually heard quotes before from Messrs Plant, Gillan and Kilmister denying the heavy metal links to Zep, Purple and Motorhead, and also from Angus Young. Lemmy has stated that Motorhead are more punk than metal. Rob Halford on the other hand has never denied his metal heritage, the old Metal God that he is 🙂

Yes. Halford was the next generation and so he was proud of it. So were many bands in the eighties who we would call hard rock these days. I'm surprised to hear Ray Davies suggest he invented heavy metal with those two Kinks' songs he wrote in 64.

A story told that can't be real somehow must reflect the truth we feel.

Ha ha, they sound like the old men they are today...ridiculous that those statements are from the 70s, when they themselves weren´t more than maximum in their mid 30s. Some of them sound really conservative in their view on heavy music, considering that most of them are usually Associated with a hedonistic rock star life style.

^ bloody good track though in my opinion. And no, of course it’s not heavy metal.

I was chatting to my youngest and his mate tonight and they commented that their peers didn’t listen to rock music like happened when I was 17. A few minutes ago I was flicking through the channels of the tv, and Harry Styles was on that bloody awful XFactor, backed by a band of long haired leather clad rock musicians. The track wasn’t great but it was certainly rock. And everyone was jumping around dancing in a way they don’t usually on that programme. The only thing needed to resuscitate hard rock and metal is probably airplay. When radio only plays grime and r’n’b, it doesn’t stand a chance.

Well, the statement "heavy metal has faded as an artform" isn't totally inaccurate. It is a matured genre at this point and has lost all that shock and awe. While many great albums are released, there is usually a sense of uniformity. It certainly has lost its ability to bug parents when some of the early gods of metal are grandparents at this point! Add to that the competetiion of all music from all of history availalbe at the stroke of a keyboard. It's a great art form but nevertheless one that has lost its domiance to engage the rebel masses :)

Well, the statement "heavy metal has faded as an artform" isn't totally inaccurate. It is a matured genre at this point and has lost all that shock and awe. While many great albums are released, there is usually a sense of uniformity. It certainly has lost its ability to bug parents when some of the early gods of metal are grandparents at this point! Add to that the competetiion of all music from all of history availalbe at the stroke of a keyboard. It's a great art form but nevertheless one that has lost its domiance to engage the rebel masses :)

I just saw a web page the other night claiming that metal was dead and for the reasons that were illustrated in ten photographs from a metal fest, photos that included pink T-shirts and moms who like heavy metal.

Well, at my age, heavy metal doesn't need to be rebellious or shocking. It just has to sound freakin' awesome!

A story told that can't be real somehow must reflect the truth we feel.

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